reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX
Thanks for the update, I haven't had time to follow the case as closely as over the weekend.
I haven't seen this or found a link, but I'll comment generally assuming you are correct.
According to my suspicions that radical Islamism motivated the brothers this is not very surprising at all.
Of course the majority of Muslims who may practice strict gender segregation are not Islamists, and some other faiths also practice it.
However, in the Islamist cults it seems to gain a massively overriding significance.
Judging by the video clips there is a strong psychosocial warrior ethos based on macho homosocial imagery.
Incidentally, Tamerlan was arrested in 2009 for battery against his convert wife, who had to cover up as he became radicalized. Apparently this cost
Tamerlan his American citizenship.
www.theblaze.com...
ild/
I think the shocking messages on women by some radical Islamist preachers (for example, on wife beating) has been much discussed over the years, so
while the domestic violence may also be due to Tamerlan's personality issues, I doubt it would have been against his Islamist self-image, or perhaps
he viewed the incident as an imposition into his domestic authority that may have radicalized him more.
What is quite interesting is that some cults allow "heavenly deception" or fooling the unbelievers for a greater divine purpose, but except for the
fact that the brothers didn't divulge their plans, it increasingly seems that especially Tamerlan's radicalization was apparent, and he even yelled at
moderate Muslim speakers in the mosque.
It remains open to question in how far he controlled his brother or his wife, and to what extent Tamerlan had the makings of a potential cult
leader.
It would be interesting to hear what made Islamism appeal to Tamerlan.
Perhaps the lack of wider family and parental guidance played a role, or even a narcissistic personality that saw an appeal in performing a "special
mission" for the cause.
Cult experts often refer to some features of people who join radical and dangerous groups, but there are always exceptions.
In Germany young men who converted to Salafi sects and became insurgents in foreign countries often came from normal families.
The fact is that Islamist material and preachers are in society, and it radicalizes some people.
Gender segregation seems to be important not only as tradition or avoiding temptation (as in more moderate religion), but also to remove young men
from domesticating influences and socializing them into a brotherhood of like-minded potential warriors.
In that sense the radical form of religion encourages military fraternization, and sticking to that segregation probably allows a sense of male purity
that is proper for the potential martyr (the reward is in the after life).
Making war and esoteric teachings men's business further appeals to macho narcissism, and it does protect women from becoming fellow conspirators when
the crimes become apparent.
This was also the case for Tamerlan's wife, who worked long hours and apparently knew nothing of the plot.
Thus, I don't find it strange at all that in order to follow the teaching on fighting the enemy (as they see it) the Islamist would stick to the rules
governing gender segregation.
Islamist protests in Britain, for example, are typically gender segregated.
If the younger brother indeed still finds it possible to make demands at this stage this would just show how much radicals feel entitled to manipulate
a politically correct society, with freedoms of speech and religious demands that Islamists would never allow in the society they want.
edit on 24-4-2013 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)